Review: Storksak Lucinda by Ellie O’Mahoney

The baby changing bag. It’s like there’s nothing left of your old life/self when even your accessories are given over to your new role of mother. And yet, find the right one and it’s one of the transitions you enjoy the most. i.e. “You HAVE to get a new bag.” Oh man, right well ok then, I’d better get shopping. Our once pregnant, now mama-of-one editor at large, Ellie O’Mahoney has test driven one of the very best and I now wish I’d had this model back in the day myself. The PBG official IT bag has landed… GT

“Until the baby arrived, I carried around a whole lot of beauty haul. Eyeshadow, brushes, three different lipsticks, two different foundations, two blushers, two eyeliners, a Tangle Teezer, perfume…the list could go on. But when you become, well, two, there’s no room for you anymore. That’s what I was told. The handbag that frankly has been more at your side than the best best friends turns itself over to nipple cream, nappy cream, Calpol, wetwipes. Not quite the beauty superhero haul I’ve been used to. And that’s fine. That’s what I signed up for – a baby and all its paraphernalia and it’s glorious. He is pure joy.

But, but, there are so many changes to make that slowly make you feel not very much like you anymore. For one, your clothes have to be different (if you’re breastfeeding) – all easy access and washable fibres. And as for any accessories, well, they’ve got to be wipe clean and drop-on-the-floor resistant.

So when I started searching for a changing bag, which friends with babies told me was an essential purchase (all those pockets and bottle warming compartments apparently), I was resigned to buying a wipe-clean holdall that BB (Before Baby) I’d never have taken a second glance at. But then I saw the prices. Boy, the prices. Those babies aren’t cheap. Now I have a couple of pricey bags – a beautiful Russell & Bromley satchel that I got in the sale for a few years back, and a Mulberry shopper that I picked up at their outlet for something eye watering. But they’ve lasted me years. And they’re for me and my lovely stuff, not for nappy storage. Plus they’re made by labels like Mulberry.

I recognised none of the changing bag labels, yet they all seemed to cost almost as much as my favourite pre-mummy bags.

I got into stalemate. I knew I had to buy a bag but refused. The cost. Ugh. The design. Ugh. I was going into babydom sans bag.

Until I laid eyes on the Lucinda (£175.00, storksak.com). Ah the Lucinda.

Now this, finally, was a changing bag made for women who don’t want a changing bag. It’s not weekend bag-huge, which many of them are in a rather off-putting, utilitarian (you never need to think of aesthetics again because you are a MOTHER) way. It’s beautifully minimalist, made of leather. LEATHER. And is black, gorgeous, stylish black. Not the pinks and creams and saccharine designs that I found all over the first few changing bags I researched.

Plus, it does its job so well. Inside it’s all organised wonder, with two main zipped compartments, four elasticated pockets, built-in buggy clips and a thermo-insulated bottle pocket. It also has wipe-clean linings and extendable buggy straps.

Yet Storksak, who make the Lucinda and a whole range of blinking gorgeous changing bags, including a collaboration with Bugaboo, market it by calling it “a classic choice to co-ordinate with your wardrobe through all seasons,” and remind mums that it’ll “fit most laptops.” A changing bag that is about the mum as well as the baby? Woah. It may not sound like a lot, but when all you’ve done for weeks is stare into the abyss of a nappy bin at 4am, having a bag that looks exactly like the kind of bags you gave up half your salary for in the pre-baby days, it’s enough to make you feel a bit normal again. And that one day, you might just be able to use that laptop again for gainful work. (Let’s not rush things). And by the time the baby is toilet-trained and I no longer have need of wipe-clean totes, this is one baby buy that I’ll be so happy to hold onto. I LOVE Lucinda.”

search

Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.

Disclaimer

I am not a doctor, dermatologist or midwife. I am seeking advice from the top experts in their fields, but please check with your own healthcare professionals before trying new products/treatments during your pregnancy or breastfeeding.